


Covet

by yeaka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, Kid Fic, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 19:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1954176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spock has a good friend in his pet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Covet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [queensusan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/queensusan/gifts).



> A/N: Drabble for “I'Chaya, being a perceptive Sehlat, growling at Spock's childhood tormentors. make 'em think t about messing with Spock!” from queensusan’s request on [my tumblr](http://yeaka.tumblr.com/). (Welcome to tumblr, darling!!)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Trek or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

I-Chaya waits until the tall one goes back into the structure, disappearing behind the self-closing slat. The little one waits outside and stares at where the tall one left, and I-Chaya whines softly, careful to not be heard in case it isn’t safe.

But the little one calls, “I-Chaya, father’s gone.” And though I-Chaya doesn’t understand the language, he lets out a happy whine. He isn’t supposed to go, he knows; when the little one tried to bring him out, the tall one stopped him and pushed I-Chaya back around the gate. But I-Chaya climbed over the latch and wandered back around the side, and the little one, like a good friend, is waiting for him. 

The little one opens its arms, and I-Chaya goes barreling across the courtyard, lunging into them. He laps at the little one’s face, and the little one laughs, rubbing his chin like he likes. When he pulls off, he’s gotten the little one’s face wet, and it wipes itself off with its paws.

It heads off, and I-Chaya, faster and stronger with twice as many legs, follows at a clipped pace. The world is quiet today. They pass another little one, but when I-Chaya’s little creature talks to it, it turns away and takes a different route. I-Chaya doesn’t mind and nuzzles his great head into his little one’s side; the little one pats his head with less enthusiasm. He can feel that the little one’s been saddened, and that doesn’t surprise I-Chaya too much anymore; the other little ones often do. 

But he’s coming with his little one now, and he can stop that. The next one that makes his creature feel sadness like this, he’ll stop. He might not be like the wild others from the mountains, and he’s no longer in his prime, but he’s strong, and he can growl like he means it.

They make their way through the structures, and the little one is quiet most of the way. I-Chaya nudges it whenever its head seems to droop too much; these creatures hold them up, like they walk up, the odd things. A bell rings shrilly when they get closer; a sound I-Chaya knows well. When the tall one was little too, and I-Chaya followed it sometimes (though it wasn’t always allowed, either) he heard the same noise. Now, his little one stops, and I-Chaya’s ear twitches when it finds out why.

Three more little ones are coming towards his, and they smell of cruelty and rampant hormones. More young. I-Chaya’s young one smells different than them and hesitates when they get near it. They come closer, too close, spot I-Chaya and don’t seem worried, and come right up to form a semi-circle around I-Chaya’s little one. They start to say things, hurtful things; I-Chaya can tell from the trembling in his little one’s frame. He doesn’t understand the exact meanings in their language, but he understands their posture and their aura and the way they make his little one boil over. His little one shouts back at them, so different than how it always tries to be—especially around the tall one—and I-Chaya feels bad for it, because he knows it’ll regret this later. 

But that’s why I-Chaya came, and he absorbs his little one’s fire and steps in with it, darting suddenly in front and bearing his teeth. He growls and snarls and holds his fangs wide, letting the sun pick them up and broadcast their meaning. The three creatures stumble back in shock, and when I-Chaya paws the ground with his dulled claws, their fear rolls into him. He snaps at the middle one, and it balks and topples over onto its back, pathetic and weak. 

I-Chaya’s little one calls his name, but I-Chaya puts one paw on the other creature’s chest before he turns his head. His little one comes over and holds his neck, and I-Chaya, biding by, removes his deadly paw.

The other little one scrambles up, and I-Chaya circles behind his young, tail flicking as he growls around, making it very clear that if anything bothers his little one again, he’ll tear it to shreds. 

The three run off, tripping over themselves, ungraceful as newborns, and I-Chaya stays by his little one’s side. 

His little one tells him, “Thank you,” and I-Chaya doesn’t understand but can feel the gratitude. The little one pets him again and coos at him, and I-Chaya feels protected and warm. He nuzzles into his youth’s chest, and it makes a bubbling sound and hugs him. 

Then it disentangles to leave, and as soon as it puts its small paw on the first step, I-Chaya knows he can’t go any further. If he tries to follow up the towering steps, many tall ones will come and stop him, and they’ll take him back to his tall one at home. And he’ll know he disobeyed, and his tall one will be disappointed in him, and that tall one was his young once, and he doesn’t want it to hurt. 

So he sits down where he is and waits for his new little one to return, determined to keep this one safe and small forever.


End file.
